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4th Chamber Music Concert in the Vienna State Opera
Wiener Staatsoper, Mahlersaal (Wien)
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Knights, sorceresses, wizards, fairies, and demons clash in a fairytale opera about love, revenge, and adventure, composed by Johann Christian Bach. The brave knight Amadis is wrongly accused of killing Arcabonne and Arcalaus' brother. They unleash their magic, though Arcalaus's is unreliable, and mobilize the demonic underworld. Amadis is imprisoned and all seems lost. But is revenge the answer? Two wizards narrate the story with music, videos, and a colorful stage.
Knights, sorceresses, wizards, fairies, and demons clash in a fairytale opera about love, revenge, and adventure, composed by Johann Christian Bach. The brave knight Amadis is wrongly accused of killing Arcabonne and Arcalaus' brother. They unleash their magic, though Arcalaus's is unreliable, and mobilize the demonic underworld. Amadis is imprisoned and all seems lost. But is revenge the answer? Two wizards narrate the story with music, videos, and a colorful stage.
Knights, sorceresses, wizards, fairies, and demons clash in a fairytale opera about love, revenge, and adventure, composed by Johann Christian Bach. The brave knight Amadis is wrongly accused of killing Arcabonne and Arcalaus' brother. They unleash their magic, though Arcalaus's is unreliable, and mobilize the demonic underworld. Amadis is imprisoned and all seems lost. But is revenge the answer? Two wizards narrate the story with music, videos, and a colorful stage.
Ivan Repušić, chief conductor of the Munich Radio Orchestra, is celebrated for his emotional, gripping style. This season, he directs the Karajan Academy for the first time, presenting a varied programme with the young musicians. An early classical symphony by JS Bach’s son Johann Christian meets the Notturno by the young Arnold Schönberg, a work still very much in the late Romantic tradition. Pierre Boulez mourns the death of Igor Stravinsky in his Mémoriale, while Friedrich Gulda’s Cello Concerto and Darius Milhaud's Le Boeuf sur le toit are full of musical humour.
Like father, like sons: Johann Sebastian Bach was not the only composer in his family, his sons Carl Philipp Emanuel and Johann Christian were also highly successful. Star cellist Jan Vogler and the renowned Dresdner Kapellsolisten dedicate themselves to their music in the grand opening concert of the Carl-Philipp-Emanuel-Bach-Fest.
“Handel is always to be preferred above all others.” Thus Charley Burney wrote in his Present State of Music in 1772. The music of Italy, in contrast, he found “paltry”. But Burney was highly selective in his opinion, for he wrote “only” about contemporary composers. By that time Vivaldi had been dead for 30 years, otherwise his assessment would have been different. Nor was Fasch alive at the time. On the other hand, Burney knew the “London Bach” and heard Cannabich’s “estimable symphonies” in Schwetzingen. From these five composers Reinhard Goebel, a leading figure in period performance practice, has chosen a programme of works for double ensemble, in which two orchestras “concertize” with or against each other. The centrepiece is Vivaldi’s brilliant Concerto for Four Flutes and Orchestra, likewise a contest between virtuosos. Played with verve and panache, the music becomes an utter delight for the listener!
“Handel is always to be preferred above all others.” Thus Charley Burney wrote in his Present State of Music in 1772. The music of Italy, in contrast, he found “paltry”. But Burney was highly selective in his opinion, for he wrote “only” about contemporary composers. By that time Vivaldi had been dead for 30 years, otherwise his assessment would have been different. Nor was Fasch alive at the time. On the other hand, Burney knew the “London Bach” and heard Cannabich’s “estimable symphonies” in Schwetzingen. From these five composers Reinhard Goebel, a leading figure in period performance practice, has chosen a programme of works for double ensemble, in which two orchestras “concertize” with or against each other. The centrepiece is Vivaldi’s brilliant Concerto for Four Flutes and Orchestra, likewise a contest between virtuosos. Played with verve and panache, the music becomes an utter delight for the listener!